NEW YORK, NY (January 23, 2013) – The seventh season of Lifetime’s hit drama Army Wives will see new challenges to the tribe, including a heartfelt and final goodbye to one of their own in one of the series’ most dramatic and pivotal moments. Four new characters are set to join the cast, headlined by Grammy® Award-winning singer/songwriter and actress Ashanti (Resident Evil: Extinction, John Tucker Must Die, Coach Carter), Torrey DeVitto (Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries), Elle McLemore (Bring It On, The Suite Life on Deck) and Emmy® and Grammy nominee Jesse McCartney (All My Children). As the number one ad-supported cable series in its premiere time period among Women 18+, Army Wives will return with 13 all-new episodes, beginning Sunday, March 10, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, leading into the season two premiere of Lifetime’s other hit drama The Client List.

“We’re all very excited about season seven, in which a new tribe emerges from the shadow of tragedy. Maintaining the enduring premise of Army Wives, the audience will witness a remarkable set of women — some familiar, some new — form friendships that see them through the challenges of Army life as their husbands serve at a dangerous outpost in Afghanistan,” said Jeff Melvoin, Executive Producer.

Army Wives follows the struggles, dreams and friendships of a diverse group of women – and one man – living with their spouses and families on an active Army post. The series stars Catherine Bell, Brian McNamara, Kelli Williams, Wendy Davis, Terry Serpico, Alyssa Diaz and JJ Soria. Sally Pressman and Sterling K. Brown will also appear in several episodes.

Ashanti will make her series regular debut in Army Wives as “Latasha Montclair,” a force of nature and an indomitable spirit for whom “southern hospitality” isn’t just a concept, it’s a way of life. Latasha finds joy in navigating the daily chaos of singlehandedly wrangling her three children while her husband, “Quincy” (Joshua Henry, Godspell, The Scottsboro Boys), is deployed overseas.

DeVitto will portray “Maggie Hall,” a former airborne soldier with three deployments in Iraq under her belt who is more comfortable fixing Army trucks or riding her motorcycle than decorating her living room. Maggie is hanging up her dog tags and focusing on her new mission: motherhood and marriage to her second husband, Staff Sergeant “Eddie Hall” (Burgess Jenkins, Remember the Titans).

Multi-platinum singer/songwriter and actor McCartney, best known for his chart-topping hit song “Beautiful Soul” and his role on All My Children, for which he received two Daytime Emmy nominations, joins Army Wives as Private “Tim Truman,” an enthusiastic young soldier determined to prove himself on his first deployment.

McLemore, who starred on Broadway’s Bring It On, will play “Holly Truman,” Tim’s high school sweetheart and newlywed wife. Holly is a long way from her family’s farm in Effingham, Illinois, the only home she’s ever known. But now that Tim is deployed and Holly is on her own for the first time ever, she is learning the ropes of being an Army wife from her new friends at Fort Marshall.

Produced by ABC Studios, with Mark Gordon and Jeff Melvoin serving as executive producers, the series is based on the book Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage by Tanya Biank, who serves as a consultant.

ABOUT ABC STUDIOS

ABC Studios is a leader in the development, production and strategic distribution of entertainment content across television and emerging digital platforms. As a key content driver for the ABC Entertainment Group, the studio has produced multiple seasons of primetime series, such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Lost,” “Castle,” “Brothers and Sisters,” “Private Practice,” “Army Wives” and “Criminal Minds,” which have fed the company’s distribution pipelines worldwide with programming and related product lines. During Fall 2012 (10 Complete Weeks from 9/24-12/02/12), ABC Studios claimed 7 of the top 20 broadcast dramas among Adults 18-49, the most for any studio, with “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Criminal Minds,” “Revenge,” “Nashville,” “Castle” and “Scandal.” In addition, ABC Studios delivered 2 of TV’s top 3 most-watched new comedies overall with “Malibu Country” (No. 1) and “The Neighbors” (No. 3). ABC Studios continued its history of producing memorable television programming with the orders of seven new series for the 2012-2013 television season (“Malibu Country,” “Zero Hour,” “Red Widow,” “The Neighbors,” “Family Tools,” “Nashville” and “Mistresses”), along with the renewal of “Perception” on TNT, comedy “Cougar Town” on TBS and new drama “Devious Maids” premiering on Lifetime in 2013.

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ABOUT LIFETIME

Lifetime is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. In 2012, as a result of its aggressive triple threat programming strategy doubling its amount of original programming spanning scripted dramas, reality series and movies, Lifetime posted its strongest year-on-year growth among the key demographics in 10+ years, while also reaching its youngest median age in 16 years. Lifetime Television®, LMN®, Lifetime Real Women® and Lifetime Digital™ are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.